3000 miles 'til dinner.

Prep time:  20 minutes

Oven temp:  350 degrees - middle rack

Bake time:  10 minutes

Quantity:  3 dozen

♥PANTRY, FRIDGE, MARKET♥♥

2 C. granulated sugar

2” long (1”wide) piece fresh ginger, peeled & cut into 5 rounds

      ~ OR 2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/3 C. corn oil

1/2 C. unsulphured molasses, blackstrap or other (see NOTE below)

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla

4 C. unbleached flour

4 t. baking powder

1 t. sea salt

1 t. cinnamon

2 t. ground clove

1/2 t. allspice

♥Prep - food processor 

In processor bowl, add sugar and ginger rounds. Pulse until ginger is completely ground with sugar. Add oil, molasses, vanilla and eggs and whir until blended. Pour into large mixing bowl.

Sift together and put intoflour, salt and dry spices. Stir into wet ingredients. 

Chill dough for at least one hour (chilling makes the soft dough easier to handle)

Line bottom of cookie/baking sheet with parchment.  Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into balls (size of small walnuts), then roll in sugar or sugar/cinnamon mix.  Place one inch apart on sheet pan press flat with the bottom of a glass. 

♥ Bake - 350 degrees

Bake cookies until just “set”

♥♥ WAYS TO “just wing it” ♥♥               consider or substitute

*consider: for an extra ginger punch, mix in 1/4 C. chopped candied ginger when you add the dry mix to wet mix. 

*sub: 1/2 whole wheat flour

*consider:  adding  2 C. chocolate chips 

*consider smokey bacon cookies:  use 1/2 C. strained bacon fat & 2/3 C. oil

*consider:  making ginger-chocolate cookie sandwiches by spooning a dollop of soft (not too thin) Chocolate Ganache between two cookies

*consider: instead of rolling dough into balls, divide the dough in half and form each into a log; slice into 1/8” rounds, sprinkle with sugar and bake

♥ Helpful Hints♥

*molasses will last for months, either pantry or fridge

*form the cookie ‘balls’ ahead of time, refrigerate or freeze in plastic container and bake cookies as you need them

*make the entire recipe and freeze extra dough for up to 6 months

*baked cookies freeze well for up to 1 month

NOTE

♥♥MOLASSES is the viscous byproduct of the processing of sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar. Blackstrap molasses is made from the 3rd boiling of cane or beets; it is darker, thick and has a stronger taste (also the most nutritious)  Molasses (not labeled blackstrap) is made from the first or second boiling and is lighter in color and texture. 

Unsulfured molasses is made from mature cane or beets, therefore sulfur is not needed for processing as it is for young cane and beets.

(MIL post)